The Orchard Humber is celebrating after achieving the prestigious School Games Gold Mark Award for the 2025/26 academic year, recognising the school’s outstanding commitment to sport, physical education and competitive opportunities for learners.
The School Games Mark is a government-led award scheme, launched in 2012 and facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, which recognises schools for their commitment to developing competitive sport both within school and across the wider community. Achieving the Gold Mark reflects The Orchard Humber’s dedication to providing high-quality sporting experiences and promoting active, healthy lifestyles for all learners.
Throughout the 2025/26 academic year, learners enjoyed an impressive range of sporting opportunities and achievements, including participating in 13 sports fixtures and competitions against other schools, alongside three internal sports competitions. The school also celebrated a Humber Regional first-place finish in the Pentathlon and a Humber Regional top 10 finish in New Age Kurling.
Additional successes included increased engagement in PE lessons and enrichment activities, a highly successful Sports Day, the introduction of Sensory Circuits to support learners’ physical development and wellbeing, 10 learners successfully completing the BTEC Entry Level 1 Sports Studies qualification, and learners consistently achieving the recommended 30 active minutes of physical activity each day.
The award also recognises the enthusiasm and commitment shown by learners who represented the school in local inter-school competitions throughout the year, as well as the young volunteers, leaders and officials whose contributions helped make sporting events possible.
As part of the Gold Mark application process, the school successfully met the required criteria across the areas of participation, competition, workforce and clubs, with the award reflecting the collective efforts of learners, staff and the wider school community.
Steven Broderick, School Principal at The Orchard Humber and Melrose Education Company PE Lead, said:
“Achieving the School Games Gold Mark Award is a fantastic accomplishment and one that everyone connected with The Orchard Humber should be incredibly proud of. It reflects our commitment to ensuring every learner has access to high-quality, inclusive physical education and opportunities to experience the benefits of sport and competition. From our regional successes to increased participation in PE, enrichment activities and qualifications such as BTEC Sports Studies, this award demonstrates the positive impact that physical activity has on learners’ confidence, wellbeing and personal development. Thank you to every member of staff, our learners, Oliver Willetts for leading our PE provision, and Craig Dobbs for his continued support as School Games Organiser. Their dedication has made this achievement possible.”
The school extends its thanks to Oliver Willetts, School PE Lead, Craig Dobbs, School Games Organiser, and all members of staff at The Orchard Humber whose commitment and enthusiasm have contributed to another outstanding year of school sport.
Following another successful year, The Orchard Humber is already looking forward to building on this achievement and applying for the School Games Gold Mark Award again in 2027.